What About Ava?

October 3, 2008 11:00AM

When Heather Locklear was arrested this weekend after driving erratically, she wasn’t the only one to be affected in the incident: her daughter, 11-year-old Ava Elizabeth, from her marriage to ex Richie Sambora, is sure to face some trying times ahead.

“Heather needs to set a good example for Ava, or the effects are going to be harmful for her daughter,” relationship expert Cooper Lawrence tells OK!.

“She needs to sit Ava down and explain to her that she’s been going through a rough time and has been really anxious and depressed. Heather needs to be aware that she can’t tell Ava, ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’ Ava needs to learn by example.”

In addition to this most recent rough patch, Ava’s borne her share of tough changes for such a young girl: her parents divorced in 2006 amidst rumors of an affair between Richie and Denise Richards, her mother now has a new boyfriend in Jack Wagner, and Heather checked into a psychiatric hospital in June for anxiety and depression.